Once More
by ChibiBunnie
Summary: It's the 14th Century during the Kinomoto dynasty. Clow cards captured, Xiao Lang and the sorceress Ying Fa have nothing to worry about, until danger strikes again.


_Editors Notes: Hey Everyone! I'm just going to make this note short. I plan to make this a very, very long story so read on and review, please!!_

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me… ::pouts::

Summary: It's the late 1700's and Japan is flourishing under the control of Emperor Kinomoto and his daughter...the one and only Sorceress Ying Fa with her childhood best friend and personal guard Xiao Lang. Between the two of them, they have managed to collect the Clow Cards after Ying Fa unleashed them unexpectedly, years ago...now only to be attacked in an attempt to collect the Clow Cards and the kingdom. In order to save Xiao Lang and the cards, something unexpected happens...  
  
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**Prologue - (Part 1)**

"Argg...where is she???" He cursed silently to himself, half in awe and half in exasperation.

Her attempts to hide from him, the best warrior in her father's army and coincidentally, her childhood best friend, never ceased to amaze him. Exasperating, sure...but amazing, as well, because he was DAMN sure by now, that he knew every single one of her hideouts... yet she always managed to outwit him.

Striding down the halls, pausing every few seconds to peer out of every window to scrutinize the grounds, while using his magic to probe the air around him, Li Xiao Lang met with no success.  
  
He had been searching for her for the last past hour or so... as he searched, the warm sun flirted across his stern face as sun motes danced across his cheeks and beckoned him closer to the window overlooking the tiny Koi Garden.  
  
Sauntering over to the window, he finally paused in his search to lay his head on the window frame and drowsily look down at the beautiful garden.  
  
A Koi pond was the centerpiece, centered smack dab in the middle of a courtyard filled with paths made of brilliant white pebbles that criss-crossed each other. In between the lines were manicured lawns, immaculate and perfect, while the heady smell of roses wafted through the air from their thorny bushes, and stalks and stalks of pale green bamboo covered the walls and the occasional rabbit that she brought in, while the Koi frolicked in the pond between the lilies...all basking in the warmth of the sun and the tranquility of peace...  
  
Dreamily, he recalled the first time he met her...

A flash of pink had attracted him to the same window as a child, although he had barely been able to look over the windowsill.  
  
Curious, he had cautiously climbed out of the window and carefully slid down the tiled roof, tearing a hole in his already patched cotton kimono, and then at the edge of the slanted roof, had hung there and dropped onto the well-manicured lawns.  
  
A sniffle drew his attention to the tiny figure dressed in a bright robe, hiding behind the bamboo stalks, located next to the koi ponds.  
  
As he had approached, she had drawn back even further into the bamboo, backing up into the walls that surrounded the tiny garden. Leaving the bright grass, he walked onto a pebbled path leading to the koi pond and stayed there...pretending not to notice anything, but secretely watching her out of the corner of his eyes.  
  
She was tiny and even at this age, she looked like a glass doll - delicate and elegant. She had long brown hair with subtle blond highlights that framed her most distinct feature; her bright, vivid, emerald eyes surrounded by mile-long eyelashes, a tiny nose, and a rosebud for a mouth.  
  
She approached him after a few minutes and together, they had watched the koi pond together until she was calm and had even started giggling at the antics of the fish who would rush up to the top and then dart back down again into the depths...  
  
Even when happy, she still had a few tears in her eyes and he finally summoned the courage to lean over and wipe them off. She smiled at that, and then pouted and showed him her pinky with a tiny cut, the reason for her pain.  
  
Smiling in sympathy, Xiao Lang had ripped off a piece of his ragged kimono and wrapped it around her pinky. She smiled again, and his tiny heart had beaten a little quicker... Shyly, she put her bandaged hand in his and they sat there...there were no need for words.  
  
They stayed there in silence, her hand in his, until her nurse ran in and grabbed her roughly away from Xiao Lang.  
  
"Ying Fa, princess, what are you doing with this child?? He's nothing..a no one...not fit to be in your exalted company!!! Come...now!"  
  
Attempting to drag her roughly away, Ying Fa pulled away from her grasp and ran towards Xiao Lang.  
  
Again, the nurse grabbed her by the arm.  
  
She cried out once more and struggled but he ran over, and whispered in her ear..."My name is Li Xiao Lang and I am your friend...so go...please," before being roughly pulled away, himself...

Over the years, they had met each other by the Koi Pond often and ran around and played, until they were finally caught by Ying Fa's father, the Emperor of Japan, who instead of banishing Xiao Lang, had seen the friendship growing between the two of them and had relieved Xiao Lang of his duties as a menial servant and had him train with the family instructor Wei to become Ying Fa's personal guard.  
  
Besides Ying Fa, the only other people who had ever treated him kindly were her father and Wei. To Xiao Lang, Wei was the father that he had never had and the family that he had never known, as they had abandoned him, leaving him wrapped up in the forest as a babe and had never bothered to search for him. The only piece of his unknown heritage that he had with him was a magical pendant that bore his name on it...and turned into a sword when he placed it in his palm....  
  
Found by a soldier, he had been raised in the orphanage outside of the castle gates and then brought into the castle to serve as a menial worker. The pendant was his only clue to his past...but he didn't bother searching..it was a past that he didn't want..ever.

In all his life, it had been Wei who had taught him the rights and wrongs of the world, had taught him all he knew about martial arts, court ettiquette, the way of the warrior, and had helped him until the day that he had died of old age.  
  
To the Emperor, who had always been kind towards him and who truly cared about his people and country, Xiao Lang had swore his allegiance...one that had always been true and could never be swayed by money, land, or earthly possesions...it was this that had allowed the Emporer and Ying Fa from the schemes of nobles who dreamed of more and more and were consumed by greed and the need for power.  
  
Wei had been his family...Ying Fa...she was his first friend, his bestest friend, the only one who saw him for who he was and never abandoned him when he was ill or hurt.  
  
She was the only one who knew his secrets; the betrayal and hurt that he felt towards his family, the harsh way that the other nobles had treated him, even now, as they considered him beneath them...once a peasant, always a peasant.. the pain he suffered from losing Wei, the only father figure that he had ever known, and the only one to know about the hard work that he put in everyday to get to where he was and to maintain it.  
  
She sympathized with him, held him close when he was hurt, cheered him up when he was down, nursed him back to health when he was sick, kept his secrets and brought joy and laughter into his life, in every possible way. In return, he did the same for her, kept her out of constant trouble and scrapes, and together, the two of them, when they had been 10 and curious, had released and captured back every single Clow Card in a year... and it was his love for her, that had allowed her to succeed and become the true mistress of the cards, changing them into Ying Fa Cards and becoming the single most powerful sorceress in the land, bringing peace everywhere...

A rustle of movement and a flash of pink and white brought his attention down to the Koi Pond.  
  
Smiling, he leaped down from the windowsill onto the grass, and landed right in front of a pouting Ying Fa.  
  
"Mouuuu.... Xiao Lang!!!" she grumbled, "I wanted time for myself...."  
  
"I'm sorry..." he said, immediately contrite...  
  
She giggled at his crestfallen countenance and moved closer to him...  
  
"Time alone is okay...but I'd much rather have YOU here, Xiao Lang," she murmured.  
  
"Ohhh..." stuttered Xiao Lang... "Uhh.... okay..."  
  
Taking a few steps closer, she threw herself into his arms and laughed.  
  
"You're so easy to tease. But I really missed you, today. Today was horrible... Kero wanted to "teach" me how to "properly" use the Ying Fa cards..."  
  
"So what happened?" asked Xiao Lang.  
  
"Well.... let's just say that it was really entertaining, in the least, as Kero ended up consuming three buckets of pudding in between "teaching me" and ended up getting a big tummy ache."  
  
The two of them sweatdropped, knowing Kero's love for pudding.

Staring at her Little Wolf with big puppy eyes...she pleaded, "Ohhh... Xiao Lang...I want to go down to the market in the center of town and see the little ones at the orphanage, please... pretty pleaseee…"  
  
"...Fine..." grumbled Xiao Lang.  
  
Deep inside though, he felt delighted at the fact that Ying Fa, although a princess in her own right and the most powerful sorceress around, was always willing to go and help those in need.  
  
The two of them had spent many an evening surrounded by the children...Ying Fa using the Create Card to create toys and sweets for the little ones and regaling them with stories about Cerberus and his Pudding Adventures and about their adventures collecting the Cards, which they all thought of as wonderful stories in their own right, even if they were only fairy tales... to finally tucking them into their tiny beds and then tiptoeing out the doors to head back to the palace.  
  
Of course she was usually being piggybacked up to the palace, falling asleep on the way up, and finally being tucked in by her Little Wolf.  
  
Besides the children, Ying Fa always made trips to go and see her people, who loved her with their hearts as she was always interested in their lives and was always more than willing to help them, and to be a friend...one of the main reasons why Xiao Lang loved her so...

Slipping her hand in his, Ying Fa felt her heart beat faster and her face begin to blush slightly.  
  
She was lucky that her best friend and the love of her life was so... perfect.... in every way.  
  
Although tall, he had an understated look to him, but was the strongest warrior around. He was kind to those that many looked down upon, even though it seemed to many that he had a cold exterior, and with his knowledge and quiet strength, had saved her many times during their encounters with the Clow cards.  
  
She stared as his chestnut hair blew slightly in the wind..always slightly messy...but she liked it that way... those calm, steady amber eyes that always radiated a sense of reassurance to her...kissable lips that had been curved into a smile of amusement for her...  
  
She really hoped that Xiao Lang wouldn't notice her quickening heartbeat....but then slipped up and sighed in contentment, as her nose sought out and found that scent which was uniquely his: the clean smell of rain and smoky incense all in one...

"What's wrong, Ying Fa?" He questioned, in response to her sigh.  
  
"Hoeee...um...nothing..." she muttered quickly.  
  
"Were you sighing after some guy, Ying Fa...??" he teased, feeling his heart breaking.  
  
"Hoe...um...maybe," she stuttered...always prone to telling the truth...somewhat....  
  
"Soo...who's the lucky guy..??" He said, pretending not to care, telling his heart to shut up while it slowly cracked into tiny pieces.  
  
"....no one..." By now, Ying Fa was blushing quite a lot...

Turning around, Xiao Lang came face to face with her, barely an inch away...  
  
"Who is it, Ying?? You know that I'm your best friend...we've been friends for almost...let's see...we met when we were five.... and we're eighteen now...well...I'm nineteen..but only a few months and... let's see...that's uh..."

Secretly, Xiao Lang was rambling on and on, trying to stop the inevitable....  
  
Ying Fa was beautiful...she had grown even taller, almost up to his shoulder now and he was a good 5' 11" and with her porcelain skin, her perfect figure that her clothes did nothing to conceal, her unique smell of roses and sweet, sweet honey... and her eternal kindness....  
  
There was no way that he could ever have her, but his heart made him ramble on, unwilling to stop because somewhere along the way, friendship had grown into love and he didn't want to know who the lucky bastard was...

Then his eyes locked onto hers...amber met emerald...and by instinct, he moved even closer to her...  
  
Ying Fa felt herself closing the distance, mesmerized by him...everything about him.. and then sighed and closed her eyes as the inevitable happened and she received her first kiss from the one man that she loved and had loved for so long.  
  
It was nothing like she had ever felt before...his soft lips on hers...the swooping sensation inside of her stomach and the joy threatening to burst out of her heart.... moaning softly, she pressed closer to him, and opened her mouth, accepting him...  
  
Xiao Lang, shocked by his own boldness but despite it, loving every second of her...felt his heart somersault as she pressed even closer to him, not only accepting his kisses but slightly parting her smooth pink lips...

Finally, they pulled back... Xiao Lang, looking at the expression on her face, barely dared to hope that she...liked him...loved him...as much as he did her.  
  
Looking him straight in the eyes, understanding what he wanted to hear, Ying Fa murmured...  
  
"Who else could it be, Xiao Lang? I...I hope that you feel the same as...as well...." Silently, she waited for an answer, then dropped her gaze onto the ground... "I'm sorry.. I...I didn't mean to...I..."  
  
But she never finished her sentence, as she was grabbed by Xiao Lang and crushed inside of his strong arms...holding her close...Xiao Lang murmured...  
  
"I love you, Ying Fa...only you...always you...you should know that...I think I've loved you ever since I first saw you..."  
  
Sighing happily, she pressed herself against his well-defined torso, her hands tangling in his soft chestnut hair, her arms entwined round his neck, pressing up against him, and looked up into his eyes and mischeivously leaned closer to recieve another kiss...

Suddenly the bells rang, pealing loudly in the distance. Startled, they pulled apart and looked at each other...horror written on their faces...those certain bells had never rung for the last eight years...it was the sound of an attack inside the palace walls...

_Should I continue writing or not?!?! Read and review...!! _


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